Unfair
by Writergorl
Summary: It was unfair of him to think like this. He had denied her all these months yet now suddenly craved her affection when he couldn't have it. He knew how unfair it was but he needed her.
1. Chapter 1

A cold winter wind swept through the small wooden house Eret had come to call home. He pulled his sheep wool blanket tighter to his bare chest and let out a groan his eyes opening.

It was about three in the morning, and Eret couldn't sleep, he was unsettled. In fact Eret hadn't had a decent night of sleep in around two months. It was because of her.

Ruffnut had terrorised Eret from the moment she laid eyes on him, constantly flirting with him, watching him and it had repulsed the former dragon trapper... At first.

Then something changed, Eret didn't like to admit it but he began to like the attention from Ruffnut and began to like her more and more. She was a fine Viking lady, dangerous with any weapon, a wicked sense of humour, a passionate caring side that admittedly would rarely be seen and not to mention curvaceous body, pretty face and a gorgeous mass of blonde hair.

Only Eret didn't know how to show that he returned her feelings, because for so long he had showed to have no interest in her, he didn't know how to suddenly show that yes he wanted her and even needed her.

In waiting so long to come to terms with his own feelings Eret had ended up where he least wanted to be now, out of her affection. Ruffnut had lost interest in him, even she knew when to stop chasing a seemingly lost cause. And much to her dislike Eret was a lost cause, much to the liking of Snotlout and Fishlegs who both continued in their pursuit for Ruffnut.

Now Ruffnut showed as much interest in him as she did with her other friends, nothing special for Eret and this infuriated him.

For the past two months Eret had been plagued at nighttime with sensational dreams of the Viking girl, both sexually fuelled and emotionally. These dreams would cause Eret to wake in a sweat and to curse himself for thinking such things of a girl he had denied the advances of for so long. This was just his knew normal, little sleep, going into the village and seeing Snotlout and Fishlegs flounce around Ruffnut, infuriating him, staring to long at Ruffnut and getting caught by either Hiccup or Astrid who both had suspicions before denying any such thing frantically.

After all how did he have any right to Ruffnut, how did he have the right to suddenly decide that he indeed did like her, that she was funny, caring, dangerous and of course beautiful. It wasn't fair on Ruffnut and he knew it, it wasn't fair that he suddenly felt jealous of Snotlout and Fishlegs attempts to win her over and his sudden need to hold her, kiss her and love her. No it wasn't fair.

Eret let out a deep breath and came to his feet, slandering towards the window ledge he rested his elbows upon it and looked out at the sleepy village before him. "Shit" he groaned rubbing his sleep deprived eyes, he knew it was going to be one of those days.


	2. Chapter 2

"Morning Eret"

Astrid looked down questionably at the man before her. He was slouched over on one of the tables in the hall fast asleep, a plate of untouched meat beside him surrounded by buzzing flys.

Astrid let out a sigh and grabbed Eret's shoulder shaking the man awake. She nearly gagged as she smelt the man, it was obvious he hadn't washed in a number of days.

"Eret" she said firmly bringing the man to his senses.

Jumping slightly Eret looked around with tired eyes "w-what" he slurred with a yawn turning to face Astrid.

Astrid let out a small laugh and sat down beside him "and why are you so tired" she said with a smile.

Eret narrowed his eyes at her in annoying before slouching back down "if your just here to annoy me, leave so I can try and get some sleep" he groaned.

Astrid furrowed her eyebrows and her gaze hardened on Eret "Well for starters the hall isn't the best place to get some sleep" she said swiftly hastily getting to her feet "secondly Hiccup wants to see us all in the training arena in ten minutes" and with that she turned on her heel and stride out of the hall.

"Ughhhhhhhh" Eret groaned, not only was he tired, Astrid was now pissed off at him and he had to go put up everyone else in ten minutes.

Slowly getting to his feet Eret made his way out of the hall, he was tired, hungry and annoyed as he half heartedly grunted greetings to the few Vikings he had come to know on his way.

Not many of the villagers had taken to him

as quickly as Hiccup and his friends, most saw him as what he was once was, a dragon trapper which had resulted in the odd fight here and there and the constant glances and whispers from those around him.

Today though Eret couldn't care less, all that was on his mind was the wish that what Hiccup wanted would be over soon and that he could go home and sleep through the day.

This hope vanished as soon as Eret arrived at the training arena. Hiccup and Fishlegs were crowded together over a makeshift table which was just a barrel, looking at a map together discussing it inquisitively. Astrid was standing by Stormfly affectionately scratching her dragons scales, Snotlout was nowhere to be seen and Tuffnut and Ruffnut were at the tail end of one of their fights.

Eret couldn't help it, he found himself staring again. Ruffnut was sitting triumphantly beside her brother who was lying on the ground sobbing in pain, arm around his stomach which Eret could only guess was the result of one of Ruffs kicks and sporting s fresh black eye also the result of one of Ruffnut's hits. Ruffnut had a wide smile on her face as blood leaked down from her nose onto her teeth staining her smile red. She looked effortlessly beautiful as she let out a cackle of a laugh her blue eyes staring down at her brother "quit being such a baby" she remarked with a laugh before looking up her eyes catching Eret's gaze causing the man too look away as quick as he could and walked towards Hiccup and the larger man Fishlegs.

"Nice of you to join us"

Hiccup piped looking at Eret with a smile, he stood straight and rubbed his fingers through his growing beard and amusingly ran his eyes over Eret.

"You've seen better days" Hiccup chuckled looking at the notable bags under Eret's bloodshot eyes and his usually well groomed hair, unwashed and wild.

Eret shot him an annoyed look but didn't feel like pissing anyone else off that day as he felt Astrid's eyes burning into the back of his head.

"What's the problem?" Asked Eret looking down at the map Fishlegs was examining.

Fishlegs interrupted Hiccup before he could even answer Eret's question "Hiccup found this map at Dragos old fort" he said excitedly "it has a location on it that we've never seen and could potentially hold new dragons!" He stated excitedly.

"More importantly" said Hiccup with a sigh interrupting the large man, "Drago may be there"

Eret raised an eyebrow at the young chief in interest "what makes you think that" he questioned, "he could be anywhere"

Hiccup nodded his head "he could but this map was found in Dragos quarters, meaning that perhaps he didn't want others knowing of this location" he said.

Eret looked at Hiccup not convinced.

"I know it's a long shot" said Hiccup, "but it's the best lead we've had on him for months" he said looking at Eret.

Eret nodded his head "alright" he said patting Hiccup on the back "if you say so chief"

Hiccup smiled and turned to face the others, "Ruff, Tuff" he said.

The pair had gotten over their tiff and were now tending to their recent wounds, Ruffnut had washed her face and was holding the her nose to stop more blood from oozing out. Tuffnut was sitting on his dragons head hand over his stomach while the other covered his black eye.

"Where's Snotlout?" groaned Hiccup to the pair but more directly towards Ruffnut.

Eret noticed this and felt his stomach churn, why would Hiccup ask Ruffnut specifically?

Ruffnut shrugged "how should I know?" she stated letting go of her nose which had stopped flowing blood.

"I don't know maybe because you were with him last night?" Said Hiccup sarcastically with a sigh.

"What!" Fishlegs gasped his eyes wide.

Eret held himself back from a similar reaction as anger started to boil up inside of him. He clenched his fist to his side but kept a calm face as Ruffnut answered Hiccup.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut glanced at each other with an evil smirk "oh yeah" chuckled Ruffnut, "I don't know" she said.

Tuffnut grinned as well, "I also don't know and I defiantly know that he is passed out in a pile yak manure" he said earning a laugh from Ruffnut.

Eret felt his temper reside as it became apparent that Ruffnut was still far from interested in the Jorgenson boy.

"Guys come on" sighed Hiccup trying to hide a smile at the thought of Snotlout spending the night in a manure pile.

"And how did you guys manage that" said Astrid as she walked over beside Hiccup, hands on her hips, she was obviously amused by the situation.

"Oh you know, challenged him a drinking contest in which he obviously lost" Said Ruffnut smirking at Tuffnut. "Got him absolutely blind drunk and got Tuff to help me dunk him in the manure pile" cackled Ruffnut.

"Truely some of our best work" said Tuffnut forgetting about his black eye and winded stomach as he bowed on top of his dragon.

Hiccup suppressed a laugh and gave the twins a disproving look. "I'm going to go get Snotlout and fill him in on the situation" he said with a sigh. "The rest of you get ready to saddle up and leave in the next hour" he said.

Eret watched as Hiccup whispered something to Astrid before moving towards Toothless who was busy devouring a barrel of fish.

He smiled to himself at the thought of the twins antics and found his admiration for Ruffnut growing. A woman who could handle her drink, fight like an animal and manage to look good whilst doing it.

He was definitely falling for her.


	3. Chapter 3

Ruffnut was confused to say the least.

Months ago she had stopped her failed persistent nature towards winning Eret's heart. He obviously wasn't interesting in anything she had to offer, for example her undying love for him and his arms. She was wasting her time on Eret and she wouldn't admit it but being ignored by Eret for all those months had hurt. Ruffnut genuinely liked Eret, yes for his arms and good looks but also for who he was, dragon trapper turned dragon rider, charming, funny, strong and a fighter. Which was everything Ruffnut was lacking in her life.

It had pained her to give up on Eret, but what else was she meant to do? The only problem apart from her heartbreak was the increase of attention she was now getting from Snotlout and Fishlegs. They had both assumed that since she had given up on Eret that now she was free for the taking.

Truth be told Ruffnut would of probably shown interest back to the two young men if it weren't for their reasons behind their feelings. Ruffnut was always seen as the smarter one of the twins and she knew that the only reason Snotlout and Fishlegs wanted her was because she was their only choice left.

Astrid has always been the obvious choice for the young men on Berk, it was clear Snotlout wanted her and Fishlegs was known to admire Astrid from a far, this stopped when it became apparent that Hiccup and Astrid were offical and very invested in each other. After that it wasn't long before Snotlout and Fishlegs realised that the only chance they'd ever have at relieving their hormonal frustrations was with Ruffnut.

This was why Ruffnut had been so stubborn with them, she was second choice, she wasn't either of the twos first choice and this was why she had been so hopeful with Eret. She had wanted to convince him into returning her affection, just because she wasn't going to be something he wanted out of lust, or out of competition.

So when she had finally given up on Eret and continued in her stubbornness of Snotlout and Fishlegs advances, she thought that all was lost and that one day much to her dislike that she would have to settle for either being a Jorgenson or Ingerman. When she had decided this though her confusion began to grow.

She had remained friends with Eret as she was with the other young adults of Berk but as she focused less and less of her attention on Berk and then soon no more of her attention as she spent on anyone else she began to notice small changes in Eret.

She would catch Eret looking at her before retracting his gaze as soon as they locked eyes and walking away as quick as he could. He would talk to her more and more now, trying to keep her attention but then suddenly find an excuse to leave just as she started giving in and returning that attention.

More recently Ruffnut had also noticed Eret's obvious discomfort when either Snotlout or Fishlegs were making advances on her. Whether it be him watching with a tense glare, a fist scrunched beside him or even taking he attention away from Ruffnut by asking either young men a question.

These new going on's that Ruffnut had noticed hadn't made her as happy as she once would of been. It had actually made her feel sad, angry and upset with herself. Why would Eret suddenly change his mind from being repulsed by the thought of her to suddenly fancying her.

It was impossible, Eret would never think of her that way, he had made that clear from the moment they met... yet somewhere in the back of her mind a flicker of hope would jolt around inside her but as she found herself almost giving into the hope she would quickly put the flicker out.

Why? Because it was stupid, she was stupid; and as she watched the ex dragon trapper saddle up Skullcrusher ready for the journey ahead of them she knew that he would never return the strong feelings that she felt for him.


	4. Chapter 4

Thirty minutes after Hiccup had gone to retrieve Snotlout he returned, with a hungover Snotlout not far behind him.

Eret glanced at the pair while he stood beside Skullcrusher, his arms crossed. He couldn't help but smirk at the sight of Snotlout who looked worse then he did. Eye bags, messy hair and of course a coating on manure on his backside. It was a sight for sore eyes that was for sure.

Snotlout slowly made his way into the arena grunting a greeting to his dragon Hookfang who was resting beside BarfBelch and the twins. Eret watched as Snotlout suddenly perked up upon seeing Ruffnut tending to Barf and felt his smirk drop to a frown.

"Hey babe" said Snotlout standing straight up as he made his way towards her.

Ruffnut physically shuddered upon hearing Snotlout approaching her, "Hey Snotface" she said without looking at him.

Snotlout pouted sadly at her lack of enthusiasm but quickly shook it off and continued his onslaught of affection.

"Where'd you go last night babe, date nights no fun without my princess" he said with a grin coming to stand beside the girl.

Tuffnut scowled at Snotlout and felt his stomach churn at the words, he was quickly reminded though from the throbbing black eye he had that Ruffnut could handle herself, so he sat back on Belches head and watched the scene unfold before him.

"Date night" scoffed Ruffnut glancing down at the shorter man, "gimme' a break" she said.

"Date night" piped in Fishlegs who had slowly made his way over to ensure Snotlout wouldn't get all the attention.

Ruffnut groaned and looked down at the ground letting out a deep breath. To think she was in a good mood only moments ago.

"That's right Fishface" Said Snotlout pushing his chest out triumphantly, "me and my princess went out last night"

Eret watched the scene unfold before him in discomfort, a pit of anger growing in his stomach. She wasn't his, she was nowhere hear his but the fact that those two idiots where trying their best to woo the girl was turning Eret green with envy.

Fishlegs went to say something to Snotlout but Snotlout was quick it cut him off. "It was pretty romantic night if I do say some myself" he said smugly. Earning a huge groan from Ruffnut as she avoided eye contact with the two young men.

"Aye nothing says romance more clearly then a coating of yak manure on your back does it Snotlout?"

Ruffnut, Snotlout, Fishlegs and Tuffnut all turned to see Eret now standing close behind Snotlout.

Eret looked at the four with a smile and continued "a romantic date in a manure pile? Even your better then that" scoffed Eret.

Snotlout glared at the taller man about to spit something back when Hiccup conveniently chose to defuse the situation.

"Guys, guys come on" said Hiccup catching their attention, "there's no time for this" he sighed.

"But he" started Snotlout.

"Maybe don't sleep in a pile of Yak manure then" said Astrid, a hand on her hip with a grin across her face, infuriating Snotlout further.

Ruffnut and Tuffnut cackled together earning Snotlouts pride to further be damaged.

"Alright, alright" said Hiccup calming the situation, "let's saddle up gang" he said turning and walking towards Toothless.

Fishlegs scurried quickly past Eret towards Meatlug, not wanting the man to have dig at him too.

Snotlout walked past Eret giving the man a firm glare, his face red with embarrassment as he mounted Hookfang.

Great, thought Eret, another person pissed off. For some reason though embarrassing Snotlout didn't bother him and at all, in fact it made his mood improve drastically. Eret chuckled to himself and was about to move towards Skullcrusher when he locked eyes with Ruffnut.

She was still standing beside her dragon, a smile on her face as he locked eyes with her. She mouthed a thanks to him gently and beamed at him again.

Eret stared at the girl before smiling as quick as he could and turning on his heel rushing back towards his dragon before his face heated up too much.

Ruffnut looked after Eret he smile turning into a frown. He didn't like her, she thought as she climbed into her saddle. She should just leave him alone

Eret groaned as he climbed onto Skullcrusher resting his face in his palms. He had to stop doing that, she had moved on from him and he was just making the situation worse by having feelings for her. He should just leave her alone.

While everyone got saddled up Astrid had watched the situation between Eret and Ruffnut unfold before her eyes. She narrowed her eyes thoughtfully at the pair and could clearly see Eret's red face as he walked away from Ruff. Astrid could tell that Ruffnut still fancied the ex dragon trapper and in the last two months Astird had began to notice Eret staring at Ruffnut, trying to talk to her and when a conversation started would quickly leave and also defended her from the advances of Snotlout and Fishlegs.

Astrid looked towards Hiccup and knew that she'd had a conversation with him on the way to the island.

She was going to fix this.


	5. Chapter 5

The flight to the island had been long. Two hours of constant flying listening to Snotlout and Fishlegs pester an agitated Ruffnut had began to take its toll on Eret.

"If you ever get sick of Tuff there's plenty of room on Hookfang babe"

"Meatlug and I would be honoured for you to share her saddle darling"

Eret glanced over his shoulder, looking at the scene behind him, Snotlout and Fishlegs flanked either side of the Twins both Snotlout strategically beside Ruffnut while Fishlegs flanked Tuffnut. Both were trying to out do one another to get Ruffnuts attention.

Ruffnut had a blank look on her face as she glared forwards, she wasn't in the mood to deal with those two today and was hoping by having no reaction the two out back off.

This wasn't the case though, both Snotlout and Fishlegs didn't get the message and continued bombarding the girl with affection.

Tuffnut gagged at the comments "why do you have to fly so close to us" he spat "there's a whole sky" he said.

"But I'd be too far from my darling" cooed Fishlegs gazing at Ruffnut.

"How am I meant to protect my princess if I'm far away from her?" Said Snotlout with a smug grin.

"Eghhhh" Tuffnut groaned glancing at his twin to see her reaction.

Ruffnut glared from side to side at the two men but didn't say anything. By the gods they were annoying and she wanted nothing more then to punch that smug look their faces but chose to compose herself. Hiccup had said they were no more then ten minutes from the island and she'd put up with their tasteless attempts to woo her for the past two hours she could manage another ten minutes.

Eret let out a deep breath and faced paforward again shaking his head. He bottled up the anger he felt as Snotlout and Fishlegs flirted with Ruffnut. He had to lock away his emotions and focus on the task ahead.

After around eleven minutes an island came into sight. This was the island they had been searching for and soon they landed on the sand covered shore eager to search the island.

Dismounting Toothless Hiccup looked at the tangled mess of a forest before them. There was no way their dragons could get through the foliage. This was going to be a mission on foot, and as Hiccup looked into the deep shrubbery an unsettling feeling washing over him. The sooner they searched this island the better.

"Alright gang" said Hiccup turning back to the group, "there's no way our dragons are getting through this forest, we're going to have to go through on foot" stated Hiccup.

"Ughhh and walk?" Groaned Tuffnut.

Hiccup rolled his eyes "yes tuffnut!" He said "if that wasn't made clear already... Now we're going to split up to cover more ground" said Hiccup looking around at the group of Vikings.

"Ruffnut" said Hiccup looking at the girl "you and Snotlout-"

"YES" Shouted Snotlout pumping his fist and grinning at Fishlegs smugly. Fishlegs gaped at Snotlout in envy.

Ruffnut felt her heart drop and she through her head back in a groan obviously displeased by the situation.

Eret was equally as displeased as Ruffnut as he crossed his arms staying completely silent trying to calm the anger that was boiling up inside him.

"As I was saying" Said Hiccup, "Ruffnut and Snotlout will be lead by Eret through the west end of the island, while Astrid, Tuffnut and I take the West. Fishlegs you will stay and watch the dragons"

Eret froze. Did he just hear that right? Hiccup had paired him with Ruffnut! The girl that he was finding it harder and harder to avoid this days and harder and harder to deny his feelings for. Anxiety pained Erets chest thinking about it. Yet as his eyes gazed towards Snotlout who was giving him a glare he couldn't help but smirk.

At least Eret could intervene when Snotlout made his advances now, without the risk of Hiccup and Astrid catching on to his feelings. He knew he should avoid he temptation though.

The temptation to strike up conversation with Ruffnut and find himself falling further for her, the temptation to defend her from Snotlouts advances and the temptation to tell her how much he needed and wanted her.

But as they made their way towards the dense forest, Ruffnut swaying her hips as she walked past him shooting Eret a grin, he realised it was going to be harder then he though to resist the temptation of Ruffnut.


	6. Chapter 6

Astrid held herself her and smiled shamelessly triumphantly to herself as she pushed her way through the thicket before the small group. They had only been on the island for about 20 minutes and had used that time not getting too far from the shore because of the hard to manoeuvre Forrest before them.

She turned her head to look back at Hiccup, she gave him a knowing smirk and span class="Apple-converted-space" /spanto which he responded with a playful roll of his eyes whilst giving her a grin. Her plan had finally come together, she had the evidence that Eret Son Of Eret was indeed showing interest in the Thorsten girl, and Astrid knew that Ruffnut still had eyes for the former dragon trapper and this mission Hiccup had proposed was a perfect way to get her plan into action.

On the long flight to the island, Astrid had been sure to encourage StormFly to keep up the front with Hiccup and Toothless, just out of ears reach of the others (especially Ruffnuts borderline stalkers) which would of caused a scene. It was then she lay out her plan to Hiccup, which was,

A. Put Ruffnut and Eret in the same group to search the island together.

B. Place the one Viking Eret couldn't stand in the same group, Snotlout.

C. Eret grows some balls and confesses his love for the female twin.

Well that was the ideal outcome of the plan. Hiccup had been surprised at her suggestion to put the loud mouthed and as some would say irritable Snotlout in the same group if the whole plan was for Eret and Ruffnut to connect on a more romantic basis, Astrid was quick to remind him though of when Eret became more vocal and prone to start conversations with Ruffnut.

Astrid has noticed that while Eret would make awkward little comments here and there to Ruffnut and simply watch her when he didn't think anyone was looking, that this would all change when either Snotlout or Fishlegs was involved (Snotlout more so for his boisterous personality).

Eret would suddenly become a lot more interested in talking to Ruffnut, he would interrupt any contact between Ruffnut and her two followers and would end up having a conversation with her. Of course the conversation would be brief when Eret would get flustered and he would quickly excuse himself.

That is why her plan was so perfect. Snotlout mindlessly would flirt with Ruffnut, Eret would interrupt start a conversation with Ruffnut and since they were in a group search Eret couldn't simply just excuse himself when he got flustered.

Astrid grinned to herself and let out a small laugh at the thought, to think a man who wrestled with dragons and captured them for most of his life became nervous around a girl. She could feel eyes looking at her and looked behind her once's more at Hiccup who grinned at her.

"Something funny M'lady" he quipped as he continued his way through their dense surroundings. Astrid shrugged her shoulders as she pushed a branch aside, holding it so that Hiccup and then the larger, meatier man Fishlegs could get past. *That was the only fault in her plan* she thought to herself with a grimace as Fishlegs slowly pushed past her. They should of left Fishlegs to babysit the dragons, then maybe they'd be making better time.

Astrid snapped back to reality and smirked at Hiccup, "Nothing funny at all Chief" Letting the branch she had held fly back before taking a few quick steps to catch up with Hiccup before beginning to whisper once again to her betrothed, just out of earshot from a certain Viking. 

Fishlegs glanced towards the Viking warrior as she whispered in Hiccups ear. Her whisper made the chief laugh as the three trudged through the forest. Those two were definitely planning something.

Whilst Fishlegs had been making his best attempts at getting more attention then Snotlout did on the fly out to this island he did happen to notice that Hiccup and Astrid had chose to fly further ahead then the others. Fishlegs had figured that strange but had forgotten about it as soon as he remembered his competition Snotlout.

It was when they reached the island that he had begun seeing the different looks that Hiccup and Astrid were giving each other. Fishlegs just couldn't figure out what the looks were about tho. None of it made sense and frankly at this moment it wasn't the first thing on his mind.

The first thing on his mind was that Snotlout was getting quality time to spend with Ruffnut and Fishlegs knew Snotlout would be pulling out all the stops to get some brownie points.

As Fishlegs shuffled his way up a sudden incline in the forest his conscious was reassured by the fact Eret was with Snotlout and Ruffnut.

Eret would interrupt Snotlout's flirtation and to make matters better Eret didn't even like Ruffnut! Fishlegs would even say that the man could even be disgusted by the girl. There was no way Eret was going to get in the way of the prize.


	7. Chapter 7

It had been thirty seconds, literally thirty seconds into their search through the dense forest searching for their old enemy Drago before Snotlout opened his big mouth and started his "romantic" onslaught.

It had now been almost an hour.

"I mean personally I think this arms got a bit more beef to it don't you think babe?"

Ruffnut felt her eye twitch as she turned her head to give Snotlout a glare that could kill. It seemed to have no effect on said Viking tho, who just flashed the Thorsten a grin and flexed his arm muscle.

"Left" he chimed flexing his left arm, while raising an eyebrow at Ruffnut.

"Or right" he said as he flexed the other.

Ruffnut gagged and turned away from Snotlout her gaze returning to the back of Eret who was leading them through the thicket. Just because she didn't relentlessly flirt with the man didn't mean she couldn't admire him from afar. Plus it was ten times better then being stuck behind Snotface.

Eret hadn't actually been too vocal since they had set off from the beach, he had volunteered to take the lead and had been doing a fine job at clearing a just manageable pathway for the others.

Truth be told the reason why Eret hadn't been to vocal was he knew that if he opened his mouth he would be far too tempted to strike up a conversation with Ruffnut. He couldn't afford to be distracted when it was Drago, the ruffles Dragon "master" that he had once worked for was involved.

He didn't even notice that his hand had gone to gentle touch his chest where the brand of Drago had been burned. Upon realising he quickly removed his hand and continue on his way, pushing a branch out of his way and holding it for Ruffnut to grab so she wouldn't get hit with it.

Reaching forward Ruffnuts hand barley brushed against his own as she grabbed the branch. Eret removed his hand quickly, he saw a hint of sadness in her eyes which made his heart hurt with guilt but her look was quickly replaced with a mischievous one.

Eret couldn't help but grin as he shook his head and took a few steps forwards. She had down this too Snotlout about 5 times so far that Eret almost felt sorry for the Viking. Almost.

Ruffnut waited for Snotlout to reach for the branch and just before he could get it she let the branch go and it flung backwards towards Snotlout face at lightning speed. Yet somehow Snotlout was faster, he had someone managed to duck out of the way.

It was kind of disappointing not seeing the stocky Viking sprawled on the ground acting like a baby; and Eret could tell that Ruffnut felt the same as he turned to keep walking.

"Woah ahaha" Snotlout let out a nervous laugh as he recovered from the near blow. "So cute babe" he said with a grin.

Ruffnut who had continued after Eret let out a frustrated, defeated sigh as the undeterred Snotlout kept going. She would just have to bare it like every other day.

Eret felt his anxiety and annoyance grow at Snotlout. He had heard Ruffnuts defeated sigh, no he wasn't just annoyed at Snotlout he was beginning to get angry at him as he continued his stupid rambling.

"It's like we're doing cute couples stuff" he blabbed, "you know like Astrid punching Hiccup, babe you are so cute"

Thats it fuck Drago

"Yea I've seen Astrid send Hiccup flying with a tree branch heaps of times"

Ruffnut felt herself smirk as she looked up at Eret.

Snotlout glared forward at the ex dragon trapper. He always had to ruin everything. "Pfft like you would know" Snotlout growled back, "you don't have a gorgeous babe like myself" he said with a puffed out chest.

Eret let out a small laugh, "Yeah I don't think I'd call Ruff their yours Snot" he said as he stepped pushed threw some more branches, this time holding them so that both the Vikings behind him could pass.

Snotlout stopped right in front of Eret and looked up at the taller man, "you always act like your so much better then me and Fishlegs you know" he said with a glare "well more importantly me, I'm a Viking you know, chiefs cousin which means second in command and all around legend" Snotlout turned and quickly tried to scramble after Ruffnut who was listening from up ahead with a grimace on her face from Snotlouts words.

Eret held back another laugh at the stout of a man and muttered to himself "you really are as stupid as you look"

"We should totally blow off this Eret guy babe" Snotlout said as he caught up to Ruffnut. "He's just slowing us down"

Ruffnut turned to growl at the man when she was interrupted by Eret.

"Well Snotlout only one way to find out"

Snotlout and Ruffnuts attention turned to Eret who had both arms crossed as his eyes turned down to the smaller man.

"Since you are so, strong and of course the chiefs cousin which as you said means second in command" Said Eret earning full attention from Snotlout.

"You shouldn't have a problem beating me to Dragos hideout, but I must say I do have my doubts four such a stubby physic"

Snotlout's face twisted in annoyance as it turned red. "Shut up, your wrong you know, I can find Drago in a heartbeat and as I said your the one slowing me down Dragon trapper" he accused pointing a stubby finger towards the man who just smirked in return.

"Oh yeah?" Said Eret. "prove it"

"Yea well I will and you, your gonna be sorry when I find him first" Snotlout stammered turning towards the thick foliage, (somehow he had completely forgotten about the Thorsten girl, proving himself more of a man then Eret was far more important.

"Alright, three, two..." Snotlout took off as fast as he could before he had finished counting down, "haha sucker!" He yelled as he disappeared from sight.

Ruffnut who had been watching the scene unfold let out a loud laugh, causing Eret too look at her with a smile on his face as well.

"I literally can't believe you made him do that" Ruffnut laughed grinning at Eret.

"Turns out he is as dumb as he looks" Eret said, his eyes not leaving the beautiful sight of Ruffnut, he loved it when she laughed.

Ruffnut noticed Erets gaze on her and gave him a mocking bow "well Thankyou you son of an Eret" she chuckled.

Eret's felt his face heat up as the girl beamed up at him. He gulped and shook his head looking back towards the path they had been making. "Come on" he said "we should keep moving, with any luck we'll avoid ruining into Snot"

Her heart sank as Eret blew her off, she mentally hit herself as she straightened up, following after him. She always had to ruin everything but being too weird with Eret, they were just friends but even that seemed to freak him out.

*Oh gods please let this mission be over already*


	8. Chapter 8

It had been another half hour or so since Snotlout had blindly stumbled off into the dense thicket in hopes of finding the deranged Drago, all to prove his worth as a viking to Eret Son Of Eret. Not being pestered and annoyed by the stubby little man for a change (or by Fishlegs) had definitely refreshed Ruffnut and had improved her mood drastically; that was until herself and Eret had fallen into an awkward silence which had only been interrupted by Eret telling her to watch her head on a branch and the crunching of the leaves and twigs beneath their feet.

Ruffnut looked upwards at Eret who continued to trudge along in silence before her. She let out a small sigh and rolled her eyes. This was beginning to get annoying, he always fell into an awkward silence around her, practically ignoring her existence which was completely unfair. Well that wasn't completely true, she had terrorised the man from the moment she laid eyes on him, flirting with him wherever he went and well just making the ex dragon trapper extremely uncomfortable. She was as bad as Snotlout and Fishlegs were to her.

She felt her whole body grimace at the thought and inwardly cringed at herself, remembering her previous actions around Eret. That must be why he felt so uncomfortable around her (even more so being one on one), granted it had been awhile since her previous flirtations towards him but it did make sense why he still felt well weird around her. What didn't make sense though was his constant defending of her when it came to Snotlout and Fishlegs, maybe because he knew what it felt like to get pestered by someone and he wanted to help her out.

Her realisation was just making her feel like a shit and her body was riddled with guilt, she looked down at her feet and softly kicked a small rock as she continued after Eret. She had never properly apologised to him for being so forward, maybe apologising would make her feel better.

Looking back up she saw she had slowed down and Eret had gotten further ahead of her.

"Hey Eret" she called, her walk turning into a soft jog to catch up to him.

Eret turned around to look at the girl as she stopped at his side, "uh yes" came his awkward response as he continued forwards.

Well, thought Ruffnut here goes nothing. "I just, you know… um I never apologised to you, like properly or anything"

Eret was caught off guard, "I uh.." he tried not to look at her as they kept walking.

"You know for the whole flirting thing" she continued looking towards him, "I was as bad as Snotbreath and Fishface" she said with a smirk.

Eret couldn't help but let out a little chuckle at her words, he felt himself ease into the conversation "Well thank you for your apology Ruffnut" he said with a smile glancing towards her, "but I would rather be sort after by you then those two fish brains any day of the week" oh gods. What had he just said?

To his surprise though Ruffnut didn't seem deterred by his comment, she just let out a laugh as they continued to walk, "We are so mean to them" she chuckled.

"Oh and you suddenly care?" Eret teased, his anxiety easing from what he had previously said, moving a branch above his head and holding it in its place so Ruffnut could pass.

"Shut up, I put up with those two all day everyday" Ruffnut quipped, "you can't seem to put up with them for more then ten minutes" she laughed as she went under the branch giving Eret a smile. She suddenly paused as she passed him and gave him a curious look.

"Why do you do that?" She asked as he once again made his way past her.

Eret glanced at the Viking girl in curiosity, "Do what?" He said, a slight feeling of unease building up inside of him.

"You know save me from them just when I'm about to admit defeat"

Oh gods what was he going to say. "um, well I just think a viking as fine as yourself shouldn't have to settle for the two biggest fools on Berk" Eret said almost sheepishly.

"Pfft, as fine as myself?" Ruffnut questioned with an eyebrow raised, hearing those words from Eret had caught her off guard and well she was flattered.

Eret had to save himself, "Well as fine as any other Viking, like Astrid…. you know what I mean" he said avoiding looking at her at all he had a feeling she would have a hurt look on her face and he didn't want to see that.

He was right, Ruffnut felt the pang like a dagger, once again being compared to Astrid, *come on Ruff* she thought to herself *don't be so dramatic, he's made it clear he's not interested so stop getting your hopes up at anything he says* trying to let her feelings go Ruffnut continued the conversation to try and avoid any awkwardness.

"Well if I think about it logically, those two are my only options" she said walking along beside Eret.

"Bullshit" Eret said blankly causing Ruffnut to look at him in confusion. "I mean there's plenty of older vikings on this island and there's so many more lands out there" he paused, "Surely you can't settle for them"

"Older Vikings? You mean Gobber and all his drinking buddies, no thanks" scoffed Ruffnut, "nice try buddy, I'm not going to leave Berk just for some guy" she continued. "If I don't make a choice between those two buttbracns my parents will arrange for me to marry one of them and even if I hate the thought I'd rather pick myself then have my parents choose" she said blankly.

"Oh come on" Eret scoffed, feeling annoyance growing in him, "You've got more brains then that haven't you" he knew his words were harsh but he couldn't stop them pouring out, "No denying it now your definitely the dumb twin"

Ruffnut looked at Eret in shock but soon her face twisted into anger, "where did that come from?" She spat glaring up at Eret coming to a complete stop.

"What you whinge about those two all the time and now you're seriously considering marrying one of them?" Questioned Eret also coming to a stop his arms crossing over.

"Have you been listening to anything I've been saying to you" Ruffnut snapped "Why the gods do you care so much anyway"

"I don't care Ruffnut, its your life so do whatever you like with it, settle as their second best"

Silence instantly followed. Ruffnut glared up at Eret not breaking eye contact, she held her breath and focused on not showing any signs that tears were beginning to form in her eyes. Eret returned her gaze, he was too stubborn and annoyed at that moment to even fully realise what he had just said to her.

Ruffnut bunched her fists at her sides and suddenly sent a fist flying, hitting the man on the shoulder causing him to stumble backwards. "Bastard" she spat turning around and making her way back through the makeshift trail they had created to get this far.

By the time Eret had recovered from his punch to the chest Ruffnut was out of sight and he was left with a feeling far worse then the punch he had received or the annoyance he felt towards Snotlout and Fishlegs. A nearly overwhelming sense of guilt was now weighing him down. Why had he snapped like that and had been such a dick to her. His own concealed feelings for her had caused him to lash out and try and keep her from being with anyone.

Eret closed his eyes and placed his hands over his face letting out a frustrated groan. He had to go after her and try and get to her before she reached the beach, where he knew he would have no chance of talking to her when she was with her brother and her dragon.

"Come on Eret you idiot" he said before turning back down the pathway and following as quickly as he could after her but her more slender physic had seemingly made it much easier to manoeuvre through the forest because there was no sign of her.

His day had literally gone from bad to much, much worse.


	9. Chapter 9

Stupid fucking Eret. Where the fuck had his knew firm opinion come from like that, they had just been having a casual conversation and he had completely snapped at her, bringing back all her stupid self destructive thoughts. She was second best to Astrid and she was just a piece of meat that her two suitors were fighting over, not because they actually liked her but because she was the best thing left on Berk.

Her eyes were red and puffy from crying, the tears had quickly spilled from her eyes as soon as she turned her back on Eret. She didn't like crying in front of others, it was a sign of weakness as a viking woman and there was no way she was going to break down in front of anyone let alone Eret.

Rubbing her sore eyes Ruffnut continued at a brisk pace back down towards the beach, she didn't know how long she'd been going now but she knew she was traveling ten times faster then they had been going before. She was on a warpath back towards the beach and as soon as she got there she was going to… going to.

Now that she thought about it she didn't actually know what she was going to do. Eret had picked at her biggest hidden insecurity and she had come to the stark realisation that she did have to pick. Ruffnut felt her fists curl in on themselves as she continued, she could just see the beach through the trees as she got closer. This was it, she was going to have to choose and fuck Eret the ex dragon trapper who had denied her any affection and had insulted her gravely.

"Who cares what the muttonhead thinks" she grumbled to herself as she got closer and closer to the beach, this is just the way things had come to be and she was only making things worse by putting off settling for so long.

As she pushed her way out of the forest the sun glared down on her briefly blinding her cause of its brightness. Shielding her eyes from the sun with her hands Ruffnut looked to her left and saw the dragons lying down in the warm sand, resting from the flight over, she smiled upon seeing BarfBelch, seeing her dragon always did make her feel better about anything.

She drifted her gaze towards her brother who of course was as red as a tomato from sitting in the sun all day, she snickered at this as she got closer and then to her surprise saw her target laying down from exhaustion on his back in front of Tuffnut.

A knot formed in her stomach as she sucked in a deep breath, this was what had to be done. Ruffnut began walking over towards the duo and the slumbering dragons, "Hey" she called out, causing all the dragons to glance up from their sunbathing and the two vikings to look towards her.

"Uh, I knew something was reeking up this beach" sneered Tuffnut holding his nose as Ruffnut approached.

Ruffnut gave him a glare but then smirked as she stopped beside him before slapping his burnt arm as hard as she could.

Tuffnut let out a shriek and went to clasp his arm which only caused even more pain for the poor nut. He let out another shriek and ran towards some shade "I AM HURT" he shouted, "I AM VERY MUCH HURT"

Snickering Ruffnut turned and stroked Barf's head, Barf let out a coo of affection in return. She felt happy again patting Barf, and peaceful, but this was short lived as soon as she was reminded of what she was about to do.

"Hey babe, I knew you'd get sick of that Eret guy"

Ruffnut looked at Barf and silently prayed, *gods help me* plastering on a smile Ruffnut turned to face Snotlout.

He was now sitting up on the sand, a coating of the small grains on his back, he was looking at her with that same cocky smile he always had on when he was around her. Trying not to chicken out from annoyance Ruffnut continued.

"Thought you were going to find Drago?" she questioned placing a hand on her hip.

Snotlout had a panicked look on his face as he tried to come up with something to impress her. "Yeah well I did go looking for him and then remembered that I couldn't leave you alone to fend for yourself babe" he managed to say as he clumsily got to his feet, "So I went looking for you but ended up here on the beach, I've only been here like two minutes, I was actually just about to go looking for you but you found your way back to me babe"

Ruffnut stopped her whole body from shuddering at his words as he looked at her while biting his lip a grin on his face. She knew the more likely story, Snotlout got scared on his own and ran back to the beach as quick as he could.

*Well* she thought to herself looking down at the shorter viking, *here goes nothing*

"Anyway Snotfac- Snotlout" She said crossing her arms and giving him a small smile, "do you want to have dinner together at the hall tonight"

Snotlout seemed to freeze, he was used to her rejecting his advances let alone her asking him on a date that this had come at a total surprise and he was lost for words.

"Wha-" he started but was quickly interrupted.

"Take it or leave it ok" Snapped Ruffnut, he patience was very lacking today, even more so with this viking she was forcing herself to give a chance.

Snotlouts eyes widened in panic, there was no way he was letting this chance slip away. "Of course babe, I was just about to ask you the same thing, another date night with you is a dream I wouldn't miss it for all the ale in Berk baby" he let out in a rush.

"Um yeah, I'll meet you at the hall tonight" said Ruffnut giving him a last smile before turning back to Bard. Ruffnut was actually kinda taken back by his childlike enthusiasm, it was actually kinda nice, he seemed genuinely excited about it. It was only a second later that she was reminded of his true nature.

"Ha take that Fishbreath another point for Snotlout"

Ruffnut felt her face twist in anger and her fists clenched. He wasn't excited because of her, he was excited because he was winning against Fishlegs in their stupid dick swinging match, that's all she was to these guys a tool that could use to release their hormonal needs. Turning she was about to give Snotlout a piece of her mind when the sound of someone coming towards them made her turn.

It was Eret. Ruffnut felt her heart sink again, was he here for round two, but by the look on his face he seemed worried and even a little upset. She saw his eyes shift to her swollen red ones and saw the concern deepen in his features. Shit, she thought she had gotten away with crying Tuffnut and Snotlout hadn't noticed so why did Eret.

'Ruffn-" Eret was instantly interrupted by an extremely cocky Snotlout.

"Oh hey Eret, come crawling back to the real dragon riders I see" Snotlout said with a grin standing beside Ruffnut and letting out a laugh. "What you get scared out there all alone or something?"

Erets concerned gaze shifted to one of annoyance as he turned towards the smug Snotlout. "And what do you have to be so cocky about?" He questioned, glancing towards towards Snotlouts back which was covered in sand Eret let out a little laugh and continued "Thought you went off to be the hero of the day, but instead it looks like you've been sun baking like a pig" he spat more aggressively then he meant to.

Both Snotlout and Ruffnut were surprised by his aggressive response, Snotlout tried to fire back with a response, "Oh yeah, well what are you doing back here then and you abandoned my princess to fend for herself" he crossed his arms smugly.

Eret let out a scoff of laughter and rolled his eyes looking towards Ruffnut, expecting her to go off at Snotlout but instead she wasn't even looking at him, she was looking at the ground her fists clenching the fabric of her skit.

Eret narrowed his eyes in confusion and opened his mouth to speak when the sound of leaves crunching and twigs snapping caught the three young adults attention.

Hiccup, Astrid and an extremely sweaty and exhausted Fishlegs emerged from the forest.

"Well I take it we've all come back empty handed then" Hiccup made his way towards the three with Astrid and Fishlegs in tow. Toothless rose as soon as he saw his friend emerge from the dense thicket and came towards him for a scratch which Hiccup obliged.

Glancing towards Ruffnut who still wasn't looking at him Eret let out a quiet sigh before turning back to the young chief. "Afraid not chief" he said with a frown, "no sign of him at all"

"You and us both" said Astrid who was tending to Stormfly, a frown on her face as well as her eyes drifted towards Ruffnut.

"Well if I couldn't find him I doubt he's even here then" said Snotlout with a laugh causing Hiccup and Astrid to let out a sigh. "I mean no point staying around should probably head back to get ready for our hot date right babe?" He finished grinning towards Ruffnut.

"WHAT" Eret, Astrid and Fishlegs all shouted in union looking at both Snotlout and Ruffnut in shock.

"Not fair Snotlout you've already been on a date with her" Fishlegs whined with a sad pout.

"Well what can I say the heart wants what the heart wants Fishy and Ruffy here longs for the lout" boasted Snotlout looking triumphantly at the larger man.

Astrid looked over at Eret who was looking just as shocked as she was before looking back at Ruffnut, this had to be one of her and Tuffnuts pranks again right. "Pretty sure your going to end up on your arse in yak manure again" she said placing a hand on her hip.

For the first time in this conversation Ruffnut spoke up, "Nope" she said looking towards Astrid, "This ones for real" there was no humour in her voice as all as she spoke.

Astrid gawked in shock, "you can't be serious"

"Hey!" Whined Snotlout.

Ruffnut gave Astrid a smile, "Yes I am actually, and in fact Tuffnut doesn't even know about it, so can't really be a prank"

"Thankyou Ruffnut" interrupted Hiccup before anyone could say anything else, "We need to get back on track gang, and speaking of Tuffnut were is he?"

Almost as if on cue a shout sounded out from the tree line "OH MY GODS" Everyone even Eret snapped out of his trance of shock at the discovery of this date and looked towards the forest. There was Tuffnut emerging from the forest where he had gone to escape the sun and in his hands was a large human skull.

"Look, look what I found!" He yelled running towards the group holding the skull above him head.

"oh gods he looks like a giant tomato" Astrid said with a cringe looking at the heavily burnt viking as he ran towards them.

Hiccup looked at Astrid with wide eyes, "Really that's the first thing you noticed not the human skull or anything"

Tuffnut came to a panting stop as he joined the group before looking up at them and holding out the skull. It was aged by the sun and stained from the land, pure bone not a pick of flesh upon it. Tuffnut poked his fingers into the skull and out its eyes, "look worm eyes" he cackled.

"Tuffnut" started Hiccup who looked at the scene before him with disgust. "Where did you find this?"

"more importantly is there the whole skeleton?" Ruffnut quipped in, trying to forget about everything that had just happened moments ago.

Tuffnut nodded his head ignoring Hiccups question entirely, "Oh yeah! Whole skeleton, well except one arm but its pretty cool"

"Nice" Ruffnut said with a laugh eager to check out this find of her brothers.

"Tuffnut" Said Hiccup seriously, placing a hand gently on his shoulder, "Where is the skeleton"

"Oh yeah funny thing, I was trying to hide from this hellish rays of the sun in the forest for like five seconds you know and then bam fell over a root landed face to face with my buddy here"

Hiccup looked at Tuffnut with wide eyes, "show me, Astrid come with me and Tuffnut the rest of you stay here we'll only be a few minutes"

"No way am I missing out on this, I'm coming with" said Ruffnut with a smirk.

Knowing it would only waste time to argue with her Hiccup nodded his head, "Fine the rest of you get ready to fly out" he said gesturing for Tuffnut to lead the way before following after him with Astrid in tow.

Ruffnut was about to follow when Eret grabbed her arm, "Ruffnut I-"

Shaking him off Ruffnut glared up at him, "Leave me alone" she said, quietly as that neither Snotlout or Fishlegs would hear but firm enough to send her point across.

Eret was taken aback and took a step aback as she gave him one last glare before walking off after the others.

Oh gods what had he done. He knew what was happening as he felt guilt, sadness and jealousy mixed with anger wash over him. He was in love with her, he had denied her and ignored her, insulted her and provoked her… but he was in love with her and all he had done was push her away and into the arms of another. What was he going to do, admit to her he'd been hiding his true feelings and make her hate him for lying and causing her pain? He couldn't expect forgiveness and love from her could he? No, it would be too unfair on her.

Instead he'd just have to drink away the pain.


	10. Chapter 10

"You are joking right?"

Sitting upon her bed, redoing her tight long braids, Ruffnut rolled her eyes before turning a glare towards her brother who was laying on his bed in their room they had shared since birth. Hiccups mission had resulted in success, while they didn't find Drago fortified on the island, Tuffnut had found Dragos remains half buried by the earth just off the beach. When they had arrived back on Berk and shared the news with their fellow Vikings a celebration had quickly been called for that very night in the great hall. This had eased Ruffnuts anxiety and dread for her date with Snotlout, with a celebration going on it would definitely be less awkward then if it was just her and Snotlout eating in the hall alone.

Her only issue now was that of her brother who upon hearing the news of her surprise date with Snotlout was beyond excited, because Ruffnut would never seriously go on a date with Snot, this had to be another setup for a yak manure prank on the shorter Viking. Ruffnut wished it was another prank but this time it wasn't and she was having a hard time convincing her brother that she was in fact serious.

"I'm not joking Butthead" Ruffnut responded not breaking away from her glare just yet, "and don't even think about trying to fuck it up" she spat

"Oh come on" whined Tuffnut, "I have the perfect idea, it involves getting Snot blind drunk so that he won't know the difference between ale and yak piss" he cackled spinning around so he was now sitting on his bed.

Ruffnut held in a returned cackle to that of her brothers and kept braiding her hair, "You wish buttbreath" she muttered deciding to now ignore her brothers antics as she finished braiding her hair.

"Ugh" Tuffnut groaned, "boring" he said with an over exaggerated sigh. "Your acting like such a girl"

"Yeah a girl that could kick your dumbass" Spat back Ruffnut in a challenging tone, "Your lucky I just redid my hair or I'd knock your teeth out"

Tuffnut let out a laugh and stood up from his bed and put on a high pitched voice, "Ooo I'm Ruffnut, I'm so scared of my handsome strong, viking brother, oh no I can't hit him I might mess up my hai- argh!"

Ruffnut tackled Tuffnut onto his bed and two instantly fell into one of their fights again.

The loud commotion from their room soon caused their mother to burst through the door. She didn't usually intervene in their tussles, but tonight was different Ruffnut was going on a date with one of her suitors and the celebration was about to start! She couldn't afford her daughter looking all 'roughed up' tonight!

"Thats enough you two!" She said as she came into the room glaring at the two who had paused mid fight on Tuffnuts bed. Tuffnut pulling at Ruffnuts braids and Ruffnut punching Tuffnuts stomach. They both new their mother was serious when she interrupted them.

"Tuffnut let go of your sister now and go clean that muck off your face" Their mother scolded pulling Ruffnut off her brother. "And you" she said addressing her daughter, "Your lucky those braids of yours have stayed in place, now put some clean clothes on and get going to you future husband"

Ruffnuts face went red, "Mother shut up!" She hissed as Tuffnut slithered off to their wash room with a snicker.

"Oh come on darling you know being a Jorgenson is the best thing offered for you" Said her mother as she turned to Ruffnuts closest and began rummaging through the clothing, "As much as your father would prefer you being an Ingerman!" She laughed, "I would have to disown you dear"

Ruffnut rolled her eyes, "Thats what father said about me being a Jorgenson" she muttered under her breath annoyed at her parents persistence in getting her betrothed but their disagreements in just who she was going to marry.

"Now what to wear, what to wear" he mother said to herself before pulling out a light purple bandeau top and a tight mid length cream coloured skirt, "Perfect, these and your leggings will be fine"

"Mother its freezing outside I need something a lot warmer then one of my summer tops" complained Ruffnut as her mother handed her the chosen outfit.

Her mother let out a small laugh, "My darling that's the point! Snotlout will give you his warm coat, its a very romantic gesture!"

Ruffnut groaned and gave her mother a look but the look that retuned her told Ruffnut that her mother wasn't going to back down from this one and as stubborn as Rufnfut herself was, she knew that there was no fighting her own mother. "Fine!" She said shooing her mother to the door, "I'll wear this and freeze to death, you happy?"

"Extremely!" Her mother beamed turned on her heel and walking away, Ruffnut could of sworn with a skip in her step.

With a scowl Ruffnut slammed the door behind her mother and groaned. This night was going to be a huge mistake.

* * *

Eret knew he shouldn't go to the celebration. He knew Ruffnut was going to be there on her date with Snotlout and he knew that it would just infuriate him and probably cause him to interrupt and make Ruffnut hate him even more. While he knew all these things it somehow hadn't stopped him from taking a warm bath, cleaning the filth and stench from his body and then proceeding to get ready for the celebration, which was actually taking a lot longer than he expected.

He had eventually decided on a long sleeved white, fleece undershirt (he made sure it covered the ugly scaring on his chest) which he paired with his usual pants. Ontop of that he wore a warm hair covered coat similar to the one he usually wore but this one was long sleeved to account for the cold weather.

Eret would only ever admit this to himself… but he was nervous. It was all because of her, for the first time in his life he actually wanted to put a bit of effort into how he looked that night. Usually he would just throw on the usual clothes scattered on his floor but this time it had taken the him around an hour to decide on what to wear even though all his clothes practically looked the same. Now he faced another dilemma, never, never in his entire life had Eret cared much for his hair, he would just comb it back and walk out the door; tonight however he was frantically looking around his small house for silver plate or anything that would give him a hint of his reflection.

"Oh come on" Eret groaned to himself as he rumaged through one of his kitchen draws, "gotcha ya' bugger!" He exclaimed with triumph as he found a worn, dimmed, silver plate at the back of the draw.

Coming to his feet Eret made his way towards the fire he had going for warmth to get some light. Holding the plate up he looked at his dull reflection and began pushing his hair back making sure there were no loose strands hanging anywhere. No matter how much he groomed himself (which anyone would compare to a peacock) Eret found that nothing would ease the nerves building up inside of him.

Letting out a frustrated sigh Eret dropped the plate to the ground and rested his face in his hands, "Come on you brute" he mumbled into his palms, "Leave her to have her date" his heart stung at his own words, "and go get drunk with Gobber and his drinking buddies"

Taking in a short breath, Eret pulled away from his hands before standing up and looking towards his door, he felt a little better thinking about spending time with Gobber and his drinking friends they were some of the only locals on Berk that would talk to him and they usually made good conversation. 'They'd be a good distraction from Ruffnut' he thought to himself as he made his way towards his door, opening it up. He could hear the celebration from his house and the village was practically deserted. It sounded like one of the biggest celebrations Eret had ever seen. Closing the door behind him Eret felt a shudder run through his body as a cold wind rushed over him…it was going to be a cold night.

* * *

"AHAHAHAH, I JUST I CAN'T BREATH!"

Ruffnut would of punched her brother if her hands weren't wrapped around her side, doing little to keep herself warm. The twins accompanied by their parents had walked from their house towards the Hall and had just reached the top of the many stairs. As soon as she had emerged from her bedroom Tuffnut had burst out laughing at the little clothing she had on whilst telling her how she was going to become a human icicle by the end of the night. Ruffnuts mother had then explained how much more attractive this type of clothing would make her for Snotlout which had then led to her parents arguing once more about her being an Ingermen or a Jorgenson.

All Ruffnut wanted to do was get inside this hall, sit down, eat some hot food and drink…. preferably till she passed out. "Outta my way" she said pushing Tuffnut to the side and squeezing between her parents entering the hall before any of them. She felt herself smile as a rush of heat hit her frozen skin and the loud, deafening celebrations of her people sounded out through the packed hall.

This was short lived, she saw the eyes of some vikings lay upon her, some of then chuckling upon seeing what she was wearing in this weather and others (the older men) eyeing her up. She now missed the cold air outside, at least there was nobody there to laugh or gawk at her dumb outfit.

Before she could make her escape outside her mothers cold hand grabbed her shoulder "Come of darling lets go find your date, oh! There he is with Spitelout, Snotlout! Spitelout! Over here"

Ruffnut's eyes nearly rolled into the back of her head at her mothers shrieking cries. She heard Tuffnut nearly wetting himself from laughter beside her and the sounds of her father annoyingly grumbling "I'm off for a drink". Opening her eyes she saw Spitelout and Snotlout approaching, she nodded her head as a greeting to Spitelout who returned one with a huge smile on his face, she turned to look at Snotlout and felt her stomach churn. He wasn't even looking at her, well he was but his eyes were glued to her busty breasts that were covered with that thin purple materiel.

When they came to a stop in front of Ruffnut, her mother and brother there was an awkward silence as Tuffnut muffled his laughter, Snotlout drooled over Ruffnuts chest and Ruffnut shooting daggers at the small viking in disgust.

"Shall we leave the young ones to it!?" The twins mother beamed disrupting the silence and gesturing for Spitelout to come with her to join a group of other vikings.

"Aye!' Laughed Spitelout giving his son a hard pat on the back and grinning back and fourth between Ruffnut and Snotlout, "Try to bring him back in one piece will ya!" He said walking past Ruffnut also giving her a pat on the back.

Ruffnut grimaced at that before giving Spitlout and her mother an obviously forced smile.

Her mother returned her smile with small wave goodbye before guiding Spitelout into the crowd of Vikings hastily. Ruffnuts gaze followed the two into the crowd, she felt herself wishing she was with them and getting away from this horrible mistake of hers.

"What are you looking at that's so interesting" Snapping out of her thoughts Ruffnut looked back towards her brother and Snotlout and saw that her twin was referring to Snotlout.

"Shutup!' Snapped Ruffnut was a glare towards her brother before marching forwards and grabbing Snotlouts beefy forearm, "Come on" she spat almost pulling the man over with her force, "Where were you sitting muttonhead"

Snotlout who was pulled out of his trance looked around and pointed towards a table right before them, "Uh right there babe" he said with a nervous grin. Ruffnut felt her heart sink, this really wasn't going to plan, first her mother picks her dumb outfit and now Snotlouts table is of course right by the open doors of the hall right where the cold wind would gust in. She looked at Snotlout with a questioning, annoyed gaze but he was serious.

"Ugh" Ruffnut groaned looking at the table before her (Snotlout better offer her his fucking bear skin coat for this), "Fine" she said walking towards it, "But go get me some stew first I'll get the Ale" she said breaking away from her brother and Snotlout but not before catching the glint in her brothers eye upon hearing the word ale. She so wanted to join in on the prank now, but she knew that if she did and her mother found out that she had foiled a date she would be dead.

Ruffnut sighed to herself as she made her way into the crowd of vikings and towards the ale. She started pouring three large mugs of the brown liquid when she heard a chuckle behind her, Ruffnut felt her eye twitched and turned on her heel ready to remind this viking not to mess with a Thorsten. She spotted the Viking straight away and her anger shifted to annoyance but with a hint of humour, "Don't say it" said Ruffnut crossing her arms.

Astrid threw up her arms in defence a playful grin on her face, "I didn't say anything" she chuckled walking closer towards her friend, "but if I was to say something, I would say that outfit is ridiculously and surely even you know that"

"You gonna offer me your furs then?" Said Ruffnut with an eyebrow raised, gesturing towards the warm, enticing white furs Astrid had wrapped around shoulders and waist.

"Look I know I'm a nice girl but I'm not that nice" laughed Astrid as she poured herself a large mug of the ale, "Seriously though" she paused briefly, "Whats going on with you?"

"Hmm?" Questioned Ruffnut taking a small sip from her mug.

"Well I mean Snotlout? You and Snotlout?"

"What you'd prefer I was out here on a date with Fishlegs?"

"No, no, no I didn't mean it like that.." Defended Astrid, "I meant, well surely there's other people around that you'd rather go for" she said.

Ruffnut felt dasavou wash over her, didn't she have this conversation with Eret already, "Sorry Astrid but Eret's already bet you to this conversation" she sighed swirling her drink in her mug aimlessly.

Shock washed across Astrids face, "He what?" She said in disbelief.

"You know gave me this whole boring blah, blah speech about how I shouldn't settle for second best and how there's someone our there for me and its not Snotlout or Fishlegs" Said Ruffnut lazily, "He got so angry when I told him I had to settle for one of those two idiots sooner the later though, he was being such a dick about it"

Astrid couldn't believe what she was hearing and also couldn't believe that Ruffnut hadn't pieced everything together, "Ruffnut are you seri-"

"Ruffnut!" Came a stern voice as the twins mother appeared seemingly out of the blue beside Ruffnut, "Stop drinking that ale and head back to Snotlout right now!" She snapped shaking her head at her daughter.

"Mother, I'm just getting drinks for us" Ruffnut retorted in annoyance giving her mother a glare.

"You can get drinks for your Snotlout your brother can get his own! And as for you, you will not be drinking tonight! I need you to be alert Ruffnut and take advantage of your sober mind! Stay alert and show him that smart, beautiful girl you are!" The without another word Ruffnuts mother snatched two of the three mugs of ale from the table and gestured for Ruffnut to head back to Snotlout, "Go on off with you" she ordered.

Ruffnut opened her mouth to respond but was interrupted.

"Now Ruffnut" her mother snapped in a stern, demanding tone, a hint of her temper shining through in her voice.

Ruffnut gave her mother a glare, there was no point fighting her mother when she had her mind set on something. She just had to put up with it, grabbing the single mug of ale Ruffnut pushed back through the crowd without another glance at Astrid or her mother.

"Oh hello Astird dear"

Astrid who was still processing what she had just heard snapped her attention towards the Thorsten woman. "Hello Helga" Astrid said giving the older woman a respectable nod.

"You snatched up the last good man darling! How I wish my daughter would be as lucky!" Said Helga with a laugh giving the younger Viking a smile her attitude changing completely.

Astrids gaze landed on a table not far from her and Ruffnuts mother. She felt a smirk come across her face, "No, I think there's one more good one"

* * *

Eret upon arriving had found Gobber and his drinking buddies sitting on a table which was conveniently placed just behind all the ale. Which was perfect for them and a great distraction for Eret who had filled two large mugs of the ale before throwing himself down beside Gobber who was engaged in conversation with two other vikings that Eret knew as Bucket and Mulch. They were alright, Bucket being a simple man but Eret still didn't mind him, he'd put up with anyone just to keep himself occupied.

"Argh there he is!" Announced Gobber in glee as Eret sat down beside him, he gave the man a hearty pat on the back that nearly made Eret spit out the ale he was drinking, "We can all sleep a little easier knowing that bastard Drago is no more then bones!" He laughed taking a large swig of his own ale.

Eret gave Gobber and the other two a smile and nodded his head, "Aye, one less problem to worry about" he replied before having another drink from his first mug.

"Ya' find those bones yourself there lad?" Questioned Mulch who's face was going red from the drink.

"No it was Tuffnut actually" Eret answered pausing briefly, "Found the remains by chance just off the beach" his mind beginning to linger back towards the female twin, he needed a distraction; finished his first mug of ale he quickly grabbed the second one "Now come on!" he stated standing up, "which one of you bastards are going to try and outdrink Eret son of Eret" and with the jeers of his fellow drinking buddies Eret sculled his last mug of ale before giving them a grin and going to fetch some large jugs full of the beverage.

After about the ten minute mark of trying to outdrink these older vikings Eret knew there was no way he was going to out last them, he could already feel the heat in his cheeks and he was only just starting the fourth mug! Even Bucket looked like he was holding himself better.

"Oh how cute he's going pink in the cheeks already!" Laughed Gobber before grabbing one of the jugs while indicating for Eret to finish the one he was on.

'Yeah definitely a mistake' thought Eret with a nervous gulp before sculling his practically full mug, "Go on then" he said holding it out for Gobber to fill up.

"Theres a good lad" chuckled Gobber before turning back to face Mulch and Bucket who were chuckling at the ex dragon trapper as he began his fifth mug.

Eret gave them a amused smile before shaking his head and having a drink from his mug and, his eyes wandered over the other vikings around them but then rested on blue eyes that were looking at his mischievously. It was Astrid, she was standing by the table with the large barrels of ale a smirk on her face as she looked at him, there was a woman beside her and Eret gulped as he saw it was Helga Thorsten, the mother of the twins. What was Astrid so amused about? And why was she talking to Helga?

Then as if on cue Eret felt a hand grab his shoulder, "Go on shove across Gobber"

Eret looked up to his left and his jaw nearly dropped. Standing right above him was the twins father GarthNut Thorsten who had an annoyed expression plastered on his face and a mug of ale in hand. Eret let out a groan, the whole point of him getting drunk with Gobber was to avoid thinking about or even seeking out Ruffnut but it felt like the gods were trying to voice him too.

"Aye Garth why some glum on this celebration of a night!" Exclaimed Gobber as he slid across the seat pulling Eret with him.

Garthnut sat himself down beside Eret and took a swig from his mug, "Your all lucky your not married" he spat with a grimace his eyes looking into his ale, "Bloody woman boasting about her victory"

Eret sat awkwardly between the two larger man as he finished his mug of ale which Mulch quickly replenished for him.

"What you two arguing bout' now?" Mulch questioned.

Without saying a word Garthnut raised his arm and pointed his finger towards the halls open doors to a table.

Eret followed the direction of Garthnuts point and as soon as his eyes landed on the subject he felt his body tense up. The gods really did hate him. There was Ruffnut, sitting at the table expressionless as she listened to one of her brothers drunken tales, her outfit was extremely odd for a night like this, Snotlout didn't seem to care though as he ogled Ruffnut's bust and every inch of her skin that was showing. Eret felt disgust building up inside of him as he saw the expression on Snotlouts face. That viking truely was a pig of a man.

"Ah let them be Garth" said Gobber turning to face the Thorsten man, "She's just doing what any other girl her age would be"

"I know but I'd prefer it wasn't with a Jorgenson let alone that oaf" growled Garthnut before finishing his drink. He stood up and looked around, "I'm going to find the Ingerman boy and send him over, I'd rather my daughter not marry a complete fool"

Without a word and without taking his eyes off of Ruffnut Eret began drinking again, the sickened feeling chest becoming more strong as he Ruffnut making conversation and Snotlout replying but only to her chest. It was disgusting, Snotlout didn't deserve to be sitting there with her, he didn't deserve to have any shape or form of her attention. Eret was jealous and this was only confirmed as he saw Fishlegs pushing his way through the crowd towards the Thorsten girl, his eyes also glued to her chest.

Finishing his drink Eret instantly refilled his mug and fell into silence as the older vikings around him continued to speak amongst themselves. He drunk that mug quicker then he had any other and continued to refill and drink, soon falling into a pattern. His eyes fixated on the table before him.

* * *

This was definitely the worst idea Ruffnut had ever had. This whole stupid date had just been her watching Snotlout and her brother get drunk, listening to Tuffnuts drunken stories (which she would normally join in on if her mother hadn't banned her from drinking) and to her disgust every single time Snotlout would speak to her his eyes would land on her chest.

"You should dress like this more *hic* often babe your so hot tonight" Snotlout slurred with a hiccup as he yet again ran his eyes up and down the female twin, Ruffnut taking note that Snotlout was obviously oblivious to fact that she was freezing, with goosebumps plastering her skin head to toe.

"Yeah maybe when its warmer weather, I'm freezing" Replied Ruffnut wrapping her arms around herself trying to send Snotlout a hint that she was close to being frozen. Of course her efforts were useless.

"No way you've never looked better babe" said Snotlout the smell of Ale reeking from his breath as he grinned at her. Ruffnut stared at Snotlouts coat and felt envy rush over her at how warm it looked, she hated to admit it but she was glad she was next to Snotlout, heat was radiating off him, because of his appropriate attire and it helped that he was drunk and flushed.

"Ugh" groaned Tuffnut who was sitting across from them, he had slightly pink cheeks and was definitely not as drunk as he was putting on. Ruffnut knew he was only pretending so that Snotlout wouldn't expect a prank coming. "Can we talk about something other than my sister" he groaned.

"Are you serious *hic* dude she's smoken'" slurred Snotlout sluggishly.

Tuffnut scrunched his face up in disgust and was about to answer when Fishlegs appeared out of the blue beside him, almost knocking Tuffnut off the seat with the force of his landing.

"Who invited you?!" Said Snotlout in annoyance glaring at the man before him.

"I'm just here to spend time with my friends and my darling" said Fishlegs innocently before looking towards Ruffnut smiling at her before his eyes too went down to her bust. Fishlegs face instantly went bright red and he looked away from Ruffnut eyes wide.

'Great, I knew Snotface was a sleaze but Fishbutt?' Ruffnut thought, her temper starting to surface. This was getting beyond ridiculous, she'd never been degraded like this before and it was starting to hurt that they couldn't even look her in the eyes.

Snotlout laughed at Fishlegs reaction and he suddenly felt cocky once again, he was on a proper date with Ruffnut after all and he'd obviously won the fight over Fishlegs, it was time to boast his victory to the larger man before him. "Stay if you want Fishlegs but your darling is now officially my princess you know" he said smugly slinging an arm loosely around Ruffnuts shoulders and pulling her closer.

"Ugh" groaned Tuffnut disgust all over his face " I'm off to the yak stal- to get some ale, yea ale" he said quickly coming to his feet and slinking off with a small laugh.

Ruffnut glared after Tuffnut for leaving her with these two and looked back towards Snotlout about to yell at him for pulling her closer but it was then she noticed how warm she was now. The fur from Snotlouts coat now covered her shoulders, his arm resting around her was large and warm and the warmth of his body pressed on hers was soothing and comforting. There was no way, no way ever that Ruffnut would normally let Snotlout do this but the thought of facing the cold again was just too much to bear. She let out a small sigh of defeat and moved her body slightly closer to his getting warmer as she did. She'd let it slide this time.

Snotlout and Fishlegs had now fallen into a argumentative conversation but Ruffnut paid no attention and simply closed her eyes embracing the warmth and instead drowning the two out with the sounds of the celebration around her.

Once again Ruffnuts momentarily peace was short lived. As Snotlout and Fishlegs continued to talk, she felt Snotlouts warm that was around her shoulder drop lower, she didn't take much notice at first and was too warm to care when suddenly her eyes shot open in shock. Snotlout as he continued to talk to Fishlegs had rested his hand on her chest and to her horror she felt his hand squeeze slightly upon it.

This was when her rage boiled over.

"You son of a bitch" Ruffnut leapt at the man to her left and her fist collided with Snotlouts stunned face, knocking him off the seat and onto the ground, in an instant Ruffnut threw herself on-top of him and started a relentless assault of hits to his face. She felt his nose break beneath her hits as blood splattered from his nose onto her face, "DON'T EVER FUCKING TOUCH ME AGAIN" she shouted as Snotlout groaned in pain beneath her.

Stumbling to her feet she left the stocky viking withering in pain on the ground as he held his nose and she turned to face the crowd of vikings who had come to halt of celebrations behind her. Fishlegs wide eyed and as pale as a ghost, fear in his eyes, Astrid and Hiccup looking at the scene in shock, she saw her mother and father together, her mother horrified and her dad looking pleased with herself and she saw movement through the crowd of someone trying to come and have a better look.

She really couldn't care less though, all she cared about was getting out of this hall even if that meant facing the cold but funnily enough she could use some air right now. With a final look of disgust towards Snotlout and a threatening glare at Fishlegs Ruffnut turned and walked towards the door heading out into the open.

"Ruffnu-" came the sound of Astrids voice.

"leave me alone" Ruffnut said not looking back as she exited the building. Walking down towards the steps she came to a halt and plonked herself down on the first step, resting her head in her hands. Hiccup must of told everyone to continue the celebration because once again the hall was full of loud chatter and laughter. Vikings had a tendency to move on from fights quite fast.

Looking out over the quiet village before her Ruffnut sighed. She now knew, one hundred percent that she would never be a Jorgenson or an Ingerman, she was going to remain a Thorsten for life unless she did decide to settle for one of Gobber drinking buddies. 'Yea well that's for another day' Ruffnut thought as she looked down at her bloodied knuckle and began wiping it on her skirt.

A voice suddenly sounded out behind her, causing Ruffnut to spin her head around expecting it to be either her annoying mother, Astrid or even Snotlout or Fishlegs. It wasn't and she felt herself draw in a sharp breath as he spoke.

"I take it there's not going to be a second date?"

 **Would love to know everyones thoughts on the story so far! if you have the time please leave a review!**


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